UCMH and MSHA hoping to clear last hurdle in hospital acquisition

Brad Hicks, NET News Service
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Aug 26, 2013 at 10:33 PM

ERWIN — Members of the Unicoi County Memorial Hospital Board of Control and Mountain States Health Alliance hope that what is perhaps the final hurdle in MSHA’s acquisition of the county’s financially struggling community hospital has been cleared.

The Unicoi County Commission unanimously approved a resolution to approve the sale of UCMH to Mountain States Health Alliance per the UCMH Board of Control’s July vote during the commission’s regular meeting Monday.

Prior to the vote, UCMH Board of Control Chairman Roland Bailey urged commissioners to support the community hospital’s sale to MSHA, referring to UCMH as the “crown jewel” of Unicoi County. Bailey said the commission’s failure to vote in favor of the sale would greatly endanger future operations of UCMH. He said the hospital is now utilizing a second line of credit that was extended to UCMH by MSHA in July in the amount of $1 million.